We were lucky to catch up with Hana Ali recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hana, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
A woman with integrity that positively impacted the lives of others is what I want my legacy to be.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
As a natural-born leader, I knew for a very long time that working for someone else wasn’t in my DNA. In 2011 after years of searching for my “passion” and what I truly enjoyed doing, my love for art and creativity was unleashed and it catapulted me into the beauty industry. Initially, it was scary walking into unfamiliar territory; nevertheless, I was excited with a burning desire to learn, grow, and network with individuals who were doing what I wanted to do.
Fast forward to 2023 and I couldn’t be happier with my decision to pursue a career as a professional makeup artist. I’ve been a full-time artist for over 7 years. Within that span of time I’ve won six awards, worked with some of the industry’s hottest celebrities, own and operate a beauty studio, been the key makeup artist on several TV & film projects, had billboards in Times Square featuring my work, countless magazine publications, and more recently I started my own full-service makeup agency, The Makeup Mobb.
Needless to say, I’ve attained a lot of success thus far, but nothing supersedes the lives I’ve impacted along the way. For me, that’s much more fulfilling than the other stuff.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Encountering tough times during any entrepreneurial endeavor is inevitable, and it will either make you or break you. Someone recently asked, “How did you keep going when there were SO many obstacles?” For me, the answer was simple: my drive was fueled by a personal desire to win and to show others in the same position as me it can be done.
No matter what was thrown my way, I got up each day and just kept going and kept the excuses to a minimum. There were days where I made $0, but I never doubted myself. I read the right literature, I surrounded myself with successful entrepreneurs, and I listened to audiobooks and motivational content to keep me mentally strong. These are all things I still continue to do today!
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
As a new service-based business, building clientele was the hardest aspect for me because I was completely green stepping into the world of beauty after leaving corporate America. However, as a consumer myself, there were a few things that I looked for in a business that made me a loyal client/customer, so I adopted some of those same strategies which included: being consistent, having exceptional customer service practices, being attentive to the wants/needs of my clients, providing a quick and convenient booking process, and maintaining professionalism at ALL times!
Because I’ve been able to build such a large and solid clientele-base using these strategies, it ultimately led to the opening of my makeup agency.
Contact Info:
- Website: hanaalibeauty.com
- Instagram: hana.ali.beauty
- Facebook: Hana Ali
- Linkedin: Hana Ali
Image Credits
Sommer Nicole Dope Shots by Precious Leo Marshall Jojo Stylez